I have great respect for and faith in the people of South Jersey. They know the difference between politically-motivated accusations and reality. They know the difference between a true commitment to public service and a campaign of character assassination. The editorial writer of South Jersey Sunday obviously does not understand these distinctions. Your editorial of Sept. 16 is an example of irresponsible journalism at its worst.

I have always followed and abided by all rules and standards of the House of Representatives. I have always disclosed every dollar of campaign funds I have ever raised or spent. In recent months, the chairman of the Camden County Republican Party and a secretive Washington political group have falsely accused me of breaking campaign spending rules. These charges, which do not involve any taxpayer money, are categorically false.

Unlike the editorial, I think we should start with what has and has not actually happened here. The House Ethics Committee is reviewing this matter. On Aug. 31, the committee stated explicitly that it has reached no decision on any of these accusations. On that same day, I released a detailed, point-by-point rebuttal of each one of these charges, laying out both the facts and the law relevant to each false allegation. This newspaper chose not to print this rebuttal.

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) has taken no action at all on these same accusations. The shadowy Washington group CREW asked the FEC to determine whether my campaign has followed the rules. Without any finding of anything from the FEC, CREW last week released a report attacking me and other members of Congress. Apparently, this group’s publicity stunt triggered the editorial. Does the newspaper really think that South Jerseyans should let our representation be based on false press releases from Washington lobbying groups? Who is CREW and what is its agenda? Unlike the people it attacks, CREW does not disclose where any of its money comes from. Some observers have alleged that CREW takes money from its secret donors in exchange for attacking and slandering public officials. CREW could easily disprove this charge, but unlike the people it attacks, CREW refuses to disclose its funding sources. In reporting on CREW's political attacks, the newspaper chose to ignore this point.

The editorial writer asserts that I am so preoccupied with this matter that I couldn't possibly be effective in representing our district. How can the newspaper draw this conclusion when it refuses to cover the activities I am actually involved in? On the day before its editorial ran, I met with constituents at a flea market in Magnolia, an autism walk in West Deptford, an Irish festival in Gloucester City, an American Legion picnic in Cherry Hill and an Italian festival in Glassboro. Of the hundreds of constituents I encountered, none of them raised the half-truths and smears that the newspaper chooses to treat as fact. Instead, they talked and I listened to their concerns about jobs, home foreclosures, health care and education.

At a recent House Armed Services subcommittee hearing in Washington, I continued my work with members of both political parties to see that the Pentagon’s budget is audited for the first time. The newspaper wrote nothing about this effort. The audit project builds on two laws I co-authored that promise to eliminate billions of dollars of waste in the defense budget while giving our troops better training and weapons. These laws, which passed in 2009 and 2010, with nearly unanimous support in the House and Senate, were never written about by the newspaper. Earlier this month in Washington, I met with our local representatives of the American Cancer Society to discuss, among other topics, how the new health care law helps cancer patients. National media have reported frequently on my lead role in shaping and implementing this law, but this newspaper repeatedly refuses to cover this ongoing story. For example, my intervention with the White House on a Medicare funding issue saved South Jersey hospitals from losing $15 million a year and prevented major layoffs at these hospitals this year and in 2011. Not a word on this was written by this newspaper.

Every day, hundreds of constituents contact my office for help with problems ranging from being denied veterans' benefits to striving to adopt children, to problems with Medicare and Social Security. At a time of high unemployment, we worked to help 297 small businesses secure nearly $150 million in loans in the last two years alone. The newspaper does not find this newsworthy.

Earlier this year, I persuaded federal mortgage regulators to speed approval of home sale transactions so that people whose houses are worth less than their mortgage loans could get out from under their debt burden and move on with their lives. The newspaper chose not to over this story.

What the editorial writer has chosen to do is to repeatedly attack my family by falsely and maliciously repeating half-truths initiated by my political adversaries. Everyone who puts his or her name on the ballot accepts the duty to bear the criticism of our political debate. I accept and understand this reality. But no one should accept press coverage that defames members of an elected official's family, and our family most certainly does not.

I revere and respect our First Amendment freedom of the press. I am thankful that we live in a country in which newspapers decide what to write, and not elected officials. With this freedom, however, comes responsibility. For this newspaper to largely ignore my work at home and in Washington, then accuse me of not doing this work effectively does a disservice to our community.

The members of our community the voters will decide who has the privilege of representing our community in Congress. With great respect for the voters, I will present my record, my ideas, and my character for their evaluation and consideration. I will continue to work as hard as I can to earn the trust and the votes of my neighbors. I will give my best efforts to serve our community and our country. I am thankful that in our country, politicians, lobbyists and editorial writers do not have the final say. The people do.

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews represents New Jersey’s First Congressional District.

Editor’s Note: Numerous events and initiatives involving U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews have been published in this newspaper including a front page photo from a Labor Day observance earlier this month and articles that detail his involvement in health care and other legislation.